30 Before 30: Get a Puppy!

That's right, we got a puppy!!!  His name is Nashville and he's sleeping right next to me as I write this.  Here he is with his favorite toy, Mr. Duck: 

Nashville is a rescue from North Carolina.  He's half Vizsla, half Brittany Spaniel, and they call him a Britzilla!  We first found out about Nashville and his litter when we were on our road trip (oops, another 30 Before 30 I REALLY need to blog about, that will be next!) back in August.  Our friends Taylor and Talia have a 2-year-old Britzilla named Dora, and while we were staying with them in Dallas, Talia saw on Facebook that the National Brittany Rescue had another litter of this adorable breed and needed homes for them.  Basically, they posted photos on their facebook page looking for fosters (short term until they can find a forever home) or adoptions.  

It took a little convincing and there may have been a heated debate, but I convinced Taylor to submit an application with me the day after we found out about the pups.  The people at the rescue loved our application and got back to us right away to schedule a home visit.  They told us that all of the puppies in the litter (there were 7) had found fosters and that most fosters would be keeping the pups, but that there might be one available.  One of the local rescue volunteers came visit our apartment on August 29 and we passed!  From there, we were told that one of the foster puppies would be available and that he could come to us on September 11.  

It's kind of awesome how it works.  Basically, there are nice ladies all over the country who spend their weekends volunteering to transport puppies to their permanent homes.  So, we had 10 women who each drove Nashville about 60 miles on Sunday, Sept. 11, and we met them in Bowling Green, OH to get little Nashville!   

Nashville was so thankful to these women for helping to transport him that he wrote them all a letter the other day and he said I could share it here:

Hi friends, it’s Nashville (I used to be called Remy)!  

Today is my three-month birthday, and I wanted to tell you all that I am so thankful to you for helping get me to Ann Arbor, because I really love my new home!  I’m growing like a weed!  Right now, I weigh almost 25 lbs! I can’t believe it’s already been 2 weeks, I’ve been learning and doing so much! 

When I first met my new parents, I was pretty scared.  I had met so many wonderful people on my way north, but each one of them had to give me to the next, so I was starting to get a little confused.  But my parents did their best to assure me that they were going to be my forever home.  First, they took me to meet my grandparents and aunt and uncle in Ohio.  That was so fun and they had a nice big yard with a fence.  I hope I get to go back there!

Next, we went to my new house in Ann Arbor.  I love this place!  Mom and Dad let me cuddle with them on the couch, which is one of my favorite things to do.  They’ve also taught me lots of ways to get treats.  I love to sit at attention, lay down, and even shake their paws!  Mom is trying to teach me to stay still, but I’m just a puppy, so I told her to be patient!

I didn’t like it at first, but I now sleep in my bed (they sometimes call it a crate, but usually a bed) with the door closed all night (Mom says the door has to be closed so no one comes in and bothers me).  I still really don’t like it when Mom and Dad leave me in there while they go somewhere, so if any of you have any suggestions for Mom and Dad to help me deal with that, I bet they’d take them!

Mom and Dad walk me all over the place every day.  Some days I even get to run with Mom.  I’m doing a very good job, except that I sometimes get distracted by food, poop, trash, grass, leaves, ok pretty much everything!  I also think I can walk myself, so I like to hold my leash in my mouth as we walk.  I don’t understand why mom thinks this is a problem, I’m just being helpful!

Mom and Dad have also taken me lots of fun places!  The first week I was here, I met mom’s friend’s dog, Malagueta.  She’s a maltese and is from Brazil, so she doesn’t really speak English, but she speaks puppy, so we had a lot of fun.  We went to a party last weekend where I met lots of Mom’s family, and they all really liked me.  Then on Friday I met another one of Mom’s friend’s dogs, Chopper.  Chopper is a Golden Retriever, and he’s a lot bigger than me, but that doesn’t stop me from hitting him with my paws and rolling around on the ground with him. After I played with Chopper, mom gave me my first bath.  I whined a lot, but I didn’t jump and splash in the tub, because I didn’t want to get mom wet.  She was very proud of me!  Then yesterday, we went to a Renaissance Fair!  It was crazy!  There were people in costumes everywhere.  Some of them were scary, but most of them just wanted to pet me since I’m so cute.  Mom and Dad wouldn’t let me eat the woodchips and turkey bones on the ground, and I was not happy about that, but they said it was for my own good. 

After all of these activities, I make sure to go home for a nice long nap.  I love to cuddle up close to Mom or Dad (or both if I’m lucky!) and snooze.  They say I’m the cuddliest pup they ever saw, but I don’t know any other way!

I miss each and every one of you.  Thank you so much for helping me get to my forever home.  Thanks to Katie for my Earl and to Cassie for fostering me.  I love all of the toys you sent with me and even the bag you sent them in.  Here are some videos mom took of me. 

And here's an album full of photos that she took of me too: 

Thanks again!  Love, Nashville

Nashville Pup!

We'll definitely be posting about this little guy all the time!

30 Before 30: Hail to Ann Arbor!

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that we recently moved from New York City to Ann Arbor, MI (thereby checking another item off of my 30 Before 30 list!).  We actually arrived in Ann Arbor on August 7th, but I think I can officially say that we feel like we live here after last night's ridiculously amazing Michigan-Notre Dame game.   Not only was it the most exciting football game I've ever seen, but the atmosphere in the Big House was absolutely electric and I think I finally feel like I can call Ann Arbor home and U of M my home team (second, of course to Vanderbilt, who was also victorious last night and will always be my first love in football, no matter how many times they break my heart).

So, I thought I'd share some photos of our new place and of the game last night, just to introduce you all to our new life in our new city, Ann Arbor.

Our new apartment is about 2-3 times as big as our apartment in New York and costs about half as much (nice!).  However, there's a catch to all this extra space: you have to fill it!  And decorate it.  And make it feel like home.  As a result, it's been a slow process of turning this house into a home, acquiring furniture, and unpacking, but we're finally at a point where I feel like we can show it off.  So here goes.

Here's our living room.  It looks a little cluttered in this photo, but overall, it's comfortable and (I think), well decorated.  We like it.



Here's each wall of the living room:

Since I work at home, we got a 2-bedroom and I use one bedroom as an office.  Here's my desk (which I bought on craigslist and previously blogged about:

Finally, one of our favorite parts of the apartment is the fact that we have a balcony looking out over a beautiful lawn:

We even have a friend who likes to hang out on the porch!

Of course, being in a new city can't be all about decorating and nesting, you have to get out and meet people!  As you probably know, Taylor is attending the Ross School of Business at Michigah for the next two years, so much of his time is spent with class, recruiting, and school activities.  We've met great people through that.  I've also gotten involved with the Ross Partner's Club, which is a club for spouses, girlfriends, boyfriends, fiances, etc. of other students.  I spent all of last week volunteering at their orientation, where I met some great people!

Taylor's friend Mike was in town for the first couple weeks we were here, so it was nice to get to see him as well.  Here's a photo of the boys at Zingerman's, a famous deli in Ann Arbor (yum!).

And, of course, we've gone to 2 football games.  Last Saturday, my parents and my brother came up to Ann Arbor and we took them to the game against Western Michigan.  Here are the boys ready for the game:

It was a 90+ degree day and sunny as can be when we headed to the game.  Michigan didn't look great, but were managing to hold on to a lead a halftime.  About a minute or two into the third quarter, however, the announcer informed us that strong storms were coming toward the Stadium.  About 5 minutes later it started to torrentially downpour and we were SOAKED!  I had on a white jean skirt (smart move) and I had a few vitamins and some Tylenol in my pockets, which proceeded to soak through and leave me covered in brightly colored spots.  Luckily, my shirt was long enough to cover the skirt so you couldn't see through it!
We decided that we should leave the game, because we had to walk about a mile to our apartment and didn't want to get caught in a terrible storm (the rain later turned to thunder and LOTS of lightning).  It turned out that play resumed for a bit after we left, but the game got called at the end of the third quarter because the lightning would not let up.   Regardless, Michigan won!

Which brings us to yesterday.  I've been hearing about the Michigan-Notre Dame game and what a big deal it is since probably May when we were at a bowling alley in New York and a guy offered Taylor $200 for his student ticket.  It was the first game ever under the lights in Michigan, and of course Michigan-Notre Dame is a big rivalry (not as big as Ohio State, but still big).  Taylor had a student ticket, but I actually didn't have a ticket.  However, we met up with one of Taylor's classmates before the game.  His wife was supposed to join him, but she ended up being sick, and he was kind enough to sell us her ticket for what he paid for it (even though he probably could have gotten 5 times that outside the stadium).  I'm so glad he did!

I won't recap the whole game, but if you haven't seen it, you HAVE to watch these highlights.  I literally just got goosebumps watching it.

The stadium was ABSOLUTELY electric.  I cannot even describe it. Here are some photos:

Taylor and Joe, thanks for the ticket, Joe!!


SOOOO many pom poms (and they were always in unison, it was impressive, actually)

There were 114,804 people at the game, an NCAA collegiate football attendance record.

What a day to be Blue!  So glad that we moved to Ann Arbor!!

Horseback Ride, another 30 Before 30!

I know, I know, I missed an entire MONTH. In my defense, I've been busy checking things off my 30 Before 30 list, though not necessarily blogging about them :) I'm going to do one now, and then in the next few weeks I'll be able to tell you about 6, that's right 6 others that I've checked off of late. I am so behind!

So on to today's list item. Go on a horseback ride. This ride actually took place on August5 (so I'm not quite a month behind, phew) in Estes Park, CO. Taylor and I left New York on July 29th and flew to Denver to see his parents in Estes Park, CO, where they have a home and are spending the summer. We got to Denver late on July 29th and drove straight to his parents' place about an hour away. Then, we got up first thing the next morning and drove about 6 hours to Riverton, WY to visit my aunt and uncle out there. We had a great time, but were only able to stay one night before heading back to Estes Park. Here are some highlights from Whyoming:

Aunt Sheryl and Uncle Geoff's new house they built:

Their Horses!

We even went to a rodeo!


Gary, Gwen, Sheryl and me (clockwise from top)

We headed back to Estes Park and spent the week there hiking, visiting with Taylor's family, and enjoying the fantastic scenery. Here are some highlights:

On top of a mountain

Beautiful views

Elk!


Snow in August at 12,000 feet!
  

A moose with two babies!

We hiked for 3 miles, part of it up a mountain, and at the top we were rewarded with this beautiful waterfall!

So anyway, on to the business at hand, the horseback ride. The ride was a 2-hour stroll through some beautiful meadows and mountain paths. Taylor's parents accompanied Taylor and I, so it was fun to have everyone there. We also had another family with us (2 parents and 2 kids).

Here I am after just getting on my horse, Old Bay.

He was a good looking, but somewhat jumpy guy. The 10 of us headed out of the horse barn and onto a highway for a quick walk across a bridge before turning off onto the trail. Here we are:

 

Probably right as this picture was taken, I looked up to see the younger daughter of the family that was with us being thrown off her horse and landing on her butt in the MIDDLE OF THE MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY! That's right, this poor girl got bucked off not 2 minutes after starting the ride. Thankfully, the first person who came along the highway stopped and waited for the girl's mother to get off her horse and go console her crying (and we later found out 7-year-old) daughter. Now, if you notice in the photos from Wyoming, there's one of my Aunt's sister-in-law Gwen with her arm in a sling. That's from getting bucked off a mule. Bucking is no small deal. Luckily, this little girl was wearing a helmet and landed on her tush, so she was fine except for being really upset, but she was so lucky.

Once she fell off her horse, of course our whole caravan stopped. And I happened to be on the bridge, and my horse kept wanting to walk backwards, and I was so afraid that he would back himself right off the bridge. It was quite a traumatic start to the ride!

Overall, the rest of the ride was uneventful, though I have to say, I wasn't a huge fan of the route. They basically took us on a straight out-and-back route, which means we saw everything twice. Also, the path had a lot of rocks, and I kept worrying that my horse would lose it's fitting. The saving grace, though, was the beautiful scenery, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Here are some more photos:

Taylor self portrait with me acting goofy:

Taylor's Dad, Reggie

The caravan

Certified cowgirl!

30 Before 30: My love-affair with POP

POP. Three letters, hundreds of varieties, one onomatopoeia-tastic syllable. For as long as I can remember, I've had a love affair of sorts with my carbonated friend. It goes by many names and even I, one of POPs most loyal and dedicated constituents, have called it by different names throughout the years. Here are some stories of me and POP throughout the years, told through the lens of my varied, but always affectionate, names for it:

POP – This is where it all began. Any self-respecting first daughter of mid-western parents learns from a young age that any fizzy drink - no matter the color, creed, or container – is called POP. Said with the endearing (I like to think) mid-western accent that I have unfortunately lost in my 10 itinerant, closeted POP-loving years, it's one of the deadest giveaways of ones Ohio/Michigan heritage. Heck, I would not be surprised if someone told me that POP was my first word. We always had a two-liter around growing up. Maybe this is why I also have an affinity for the metric system...but I digress. My mom was obsessed with finding the cheapest price per two-liter possible. My dad and uncles put it in their drinks, and whenever there were social events going on, I knew to smell the POP before sneaking a sip. I learned the smell of Bacardi, Jack, and Crown at a young age. For my part, I just loved to drink POP, and drink it I did.

Half-and-half – In high school, when we got our licenses and were always looking for any excuse to drive, I habitually visited the quaint little gas station in Downtown Perrysburg for a 22oz half-diet, half-regular POP in a blue Pepsi cup. It was $0.86 (about the same price as gas at the time!). I probably had one every day for a year and a half, and I shudder to think of the unnecessary calories, tooth rot, and multiple of $0.86 that resulted. The half-and-half thing still exists. I order it at restaurants and even fake like “oops! I started with regular but I meant to get diet!” at fountain machines – of course I intended full-well to mix them all along.

Coke – Well, high school graduation came and like any bright-eyed teenage girl with a first love, I assumed it would last forever. So, I packed up my things and moved to Nashville, TN without even a hint of foreboding. Until the first time I tried to introduce POP to my friends. I don't remember the exact moment but it was probably something like, “I'm going to go grab a pop from the cafeteria, who wants to come?” And my born-and-bred southern friends looked at me like I had just spit on their mother's graves. “Excuse me, did you just say POP?” Cue laughter, mocking, etc. I was quickly educated that within a 13 hour radius of the Mecca of Coke, Atlanta, GA, all carbonated beverages were referred to as COKE. Oh. Well excuse me! What if I don't even like COKE and prefer PEPSI. BLASPHEMY. It turns out that coke was the general term for everything. So if you are ordering at a restaurant, tell the waiter or waitress that you want COKE and then wait for them to ask you “What kind?” to which is it is perfectly acceptable to respond diet coke, mountain dew, orange, or even Pepsi (as long as you don't call it pop). I was absolutely not about to risk more humiliation over this, so I replaced my darling POP with COKE for the next 4 years.

Breakfast – The first semester of my sophomore year of college was the only time in college that I was single. I went through a phase where I wore black pants, a T-Shirt, and flip flops every day (I have no idea why). I also had a special little tryst with POP (shhhh...don't tell the Southerners). For a few months, I had a Diet Cherry Coke and a package of cinnamon POP-tarts (how fitting) every day on my way to class. I am most definitely a creature of habit, and at a time that might otherwise have felt

Soda – After college, I moved to New York City, where I was introduced to another, brand new word for my old friend, SODA. To be honest, POP isn't really such a big thing in the northeast, so I never really figured out if this is what people call it in New York or if that's just what Taylor and his family called it, but I knew the Southern method of referring to all POP as COKE wasn't going to fly, and I couldn't bear to risk the ridicule of uttering POP for the first time, so SODA it was. I think it was in New York that I realized that Subway restaurants had the BEST POP. I don't know what it is about their mix, but it was yummy. McDonalds, they water theirs down so much you can barely taste it, but Subway is more common in New York anyway, so I was happy. SODA and I got along just fine during the 5 years I lived in New York. Along the way I started to think that maybe I should try to get away from all the empty calories of SODA, so I took to drinking straight-up Diet Dr. Pepper because it was sweet enough to drink without having to mix it with regular SODA.

Thank you – The last name that POP has had for me it “Thank you.” My boss always buys me a Diet Dr. Pepper for me at the deli down the block from our office. I'm not as big of a POP drinker as I used to be, so the 20oz. bottle usually lasts the whole day, and sometimes I even have some left to throw out before I head home. But my boss knows I like it, and when he's feeling especially appreciative for the work I am doing or just sees that I could use a pick-me-up, he always buys me a Diet Dr. Pepper and leaves it on my desk. It's his small way of expressing his appreciation and I'm glad that POP can serve this important purpose in my life, just like it always have.

By now you're pretty infatuated with POP too, aren't you??

Well, not so fast. As I sit writing this, I am bidding farewell to my good friend POP on a plane to Denver, CO. We're going to Colorado for a week before we permanently move to Ann Arbor. I have one last Diet Dr. Pepper, and you know what, I don't think I'll even finish it. We've left behind New York City and, perhaps more importantly, I have left POP. You know, I've always been one to say, “You only live once, so do what you want, within reason.” And though POP, to me, has millions of redeeming attributes, in reality, POP is just not good for you. And also, I think I've outgrown my need for POP a little. Throughout life, POP has been a stabilizing, reassuring force for me. It has reminded me of home when I haven't been there. It's where I came from. So now as we leave New York and return home to Michigan, I don't think I'll need POP anymore. But don't worry, POP-HALF-AND-HALF-COKE-BREAKFAST-SODA-THANK-YOU, you'll always have a special place in my heart.

New Furniture!

A BIG thanks to my Uncle Jeff, who picked up some gorgeous furniture off of Craigslist for our new place today! We got a hutch and a desk for $150. So excited!

I'm turning 28!

Tomorrow is my birthday, and Taylor gave me the most amazing gift! He reached out directly to famous New York Street Artist James De La Vega and got an original print, which I will be framing and putting in my new office! The below photo is a mock-up of what I'm envisioning (the rest of the office will be just black and white). So excited!!

We moved!

Ok, so it's totally lame that I went more than 3 weeks and one major life change without a post, but here goes. Taylor and I have moved, kind of (as in, I'm not checking "Move to a new city" off the 30 before 30 but we no longer live in New York). See, it all started back in the summer of 2009 when Taylor got back from Indonesia and I was just returning from 6 months in Ohio. We were homeless. I spent a few weeks staying with friends in the city and Taylor lived at home, but mostly we just wanted to get settled in an apartment in New York. We settled on this little gem:



which we eventually outfitted to look like this:



We moved in on July 1, 2009 and, wouldn't you know it, like clockwork 2 years (and $37,758) later, our landlords expect us to move out. The NERVE! So, that is how it came to pass that on Friday, June 24th, Taylor and I picked up a 16ft budget truck:



Loaded it up until our apartment was empty again:



And drove to Michigan, with a pitstop at this unmarked Econo Lodge in Bellefonte, PA:



..and for some gas, where we maxed out the tank:



Finally, after much driving, we arrived:



We immediately headed to my Aunt and Uncle's house near Ann Arbor and observed this feat of storage prowess, put together by David and Jeff Lucyk:

And then we got to go check out our new apartment complex!

Dorks:


Entrance to our building:


Our gloriously large kitchen!


(I know, but did you see our kitchen before??)


The pretty lawn:


We are so pumped!!

So, the reason all of our stuff ended up looking like a game of Tetris in my Aunt and Uncle's garage and not beautifully laid out in our new apartment is that we actually haven't, technically, moved yet. We figured that since we don't have to actually be in Ann Arbor until August, we might as well take advantage of our jobs (especially Taylor's since I will be keeping mine) and keep working for the month of July while not having to pay any rent. NO RENT? you ask? Nope! We're lucky to be staying at Taylor's house in beautiful Tenafly, NJ until July 29th. We got here last week and had an extremely relaxing 4th of July with the house to ourselves (not that it would not have been relaxing with them here, but Taylor's parents are actually in Estes Park, Colorado for the summer).

Here are some photos from our trip to the Walkway on the Hudson on Saturday:

The walkway is 210 feet off the water and was the longest railway crossing in the world when it opened in 1889.

View from the bridge looking out at the Mid Hudson Bridge:


Cute photo:


Train winding along the Hudson


A freighter approaching:


Up close:


Another one:


Pretty flag shot from the bridge: